Ethiopia says army to take over security in troubled south

Addis Ababa (AFP) – Ethiopia announced Monday that soldiers and federal police will take over security in a restive southern region following days of violence that has left at least 18 people dead.

“The regular security structure has been unable to ensure rule of law and has been stymied by various agendas,” said a statement read on regional state television late Monday.

“From today onward the southern region will be under a federal security forces-led command post.”

The unrest stems from efforts by the Sidama ethnic group, the largest in the southern region, to establish a new semi-autonomous state – a project that has put them on a collision course with the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

Protests erupted last week as Sidama activists sought to declare their own territory separate from the diverse Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Region.

Ethiopia is already partitioned into nine semi-autonomous regions. The constitution requires the government to organise a referendum for any ethnic group that wants to form a new entity within a year of them requesting it.

Sidama leaders submitted their request last July and were preparing to unilaterally declare their new state last week but instead accepted a government request to delay the move.

Clahses broke out when it became clear that a declaration was not imminent, with violence carrying through the weekend into Monday.

In its statement, the government said security had deteriorated and the southern region was plagued by “strife, destruction, displacement and robberies”.

“Armed and illegal groups have been wreaking havoc in the region and the army has been trying to restore the rule of law,” it said.

It said the federal takeover came at the request of regional officials. Details of a new central command post be made known in coming days, it added.

– Rising death toll –

Hospital officials in Hawassa, the regional capital, said last Friday that four people were killed in protests there.